We’ve been hearing about Apple’s plans to implement some sort of a self-checkout system in its chain for over a week now. As a matter of fact, we’ve been expecting to see the feature added in an Apple Store app update since November 3rd.

As they say, better late than never. MacRumors was the first to spot the update in the App Store, which must have been uploaded sometime late last night. As promised, Apple added a number of features to the app, including self-checkout…

What’s New in Version 2.0:

– Personal Pickup: Buy in the app and choose to pick up your order at any Apple Retail Store. Most in-stock orders are available to pickup within an hour. (US only)

– Track your stuff: View the status of current and previous orders from the order status section in the More tab.

– Additional international support (Canada, China).

– Requires iOS 4.2 or higher

The tracking tool is a welcome addition, and would have certainly come in handy for tracking iPhone 4S pre-orders. Other than that, there aren’t too many surprises here. MacRumors gave a detailed description of the update more than a week ago.

But now that the app has launched, it’ll be interesting to see how Apple’s EasyPay self-checkout system works out. Something about customers using their iPhones to purchase items without employee assistance just screams “shoplifters welcome.”

If you want to try it out for yourself (the app, not shoplifting), the new Apple Store application is now available for download in the App Store.

Will Apple’s EasyPay system revolutionize retail? Or will it just increase theft attempts?